Child estate agents sell family home at full asking price

THESE budding estate agents proved that selling a house is child’s play – and they saved their parents nearly £5,000 into the bargain.

Ella and Tomass drew colourful flyers and passed them around the neighbourhood [SWNS]

Eight-year-old Ella Penny and brother Tomass, six, made 40 hand-drawn flyers, featuring a sketch of their house and a number for would-be buyers to call “daddy”.

The savvy siblings distributed them door-to-door, handed them out at a bring-and-buy sale and put up a cardboard letter box outside their house for buyers’ offers.

Four days later, their parents Dave and Liene received two offers for the full £250,000 asking price for their four-bed home and a sale was agreed two days later.

Now the family is all set to move to their dream home on the other side of Taunton, ­Somerset. And the enterprising children have saved their parents £4,500 in estate agency fees – 1.5 per cent of the sale price plus 20 per cent VAT.

The extraordinary tale began when Dave and Liene put in an offer for their new home but ­worried it would fall through while they waited to sell their own house.

Liene, 32, who owns a translation agency, said she and Dave, 47, were not thinking of moving until they saw the house. She said: “But we thought, ‘Right, how are we going to sell our house?’ We were apprehensive about telling the children because it is a big change.”

But within 10 minutes they were putting together the leaflets. “We just thought it was a great activity for them,” said Liene. The charming leaflets – coloured in with felt tip pens – said: “If you know anybody who wants to buy a new house phone them up and say ‘11 French Wier (sic) Avenue is for sale’.”

One leaflet was handed to a ­couple at the bring-and-buy who passed it to friends keen to buy a home in the area. The retired ­couple arranged a viewing – just hours before another hopeful left his details – and put in an offer.

Dave and Liene treated their mini estate agents to a slap-up meal. Liene said: “We are very proud.” Tomass said: “I might be an estate agent one day.”

And he might be in luck. Local estate agent Chris Willey, of Wilsons, said: “If they want a job in the future, they should come to us.”